Satlu (Ear Heel
One-Two Punch
Diversions explores evolution
of Ackland Art Museum.
See Page 8
Lawmakers Pass Tuition Increase
A 9 percent tuition increase, part of which
will be charged retroactively, will take effect
pending the approval of Gov. Mike Easley.
By Alex Kaplun
State & National Editor
RALEIGH - After a week of turbulent debate, the N.C.
General Assembly approved a continuing budget resolution
that includes a 9 percent retroactive tuition increase for all
UNC-system students.
The legislation will increase in-state undergraduate tuition
at UNC-Chapel Hill by about S2OO, while out-of-state tuition
will increase by about SI,OOO.
The tuition increase will also be retroactive, meaning stu
dents will have to pay additional money for the fall semester,
which is already two weeks old.
Asa result of a 4 percent tuition increase approved by the
Board of Governors last fall - which will be folded into the
increase passed Wednesday - UNC-CH students have
already been charged about SIOO of the tuition increase. The
additional retroactive cost for in-state students will be negli
gible, but out-of-state students could receive a bill for an addi
tional S4OO in the coming weeks.
The tuition increase also comes on top of a S3OO increase
for UNC-CH students that was approved by the General
Assembly last summer.
Lawmakers had until midnight Wednesday to pass a con
tinuing budget resolution that would keep the government
operating for another month while legislators try to build a
budget for the fiscal year, which started July 1. Two weeks ago,
lawmakers decided to include the tuition increase in the res
olution so universities could implement and students could
brace for the increase as soon as possible.
Passage of the tuition increase comes after several days of
political wrangling between budget writers from both the
Senate and the House. Last week, leaders from both chambers
informally agreed to a 9 percent across-the-board tuition
increase. Those plans appeared to be derailed Tuesday night
when the House passed an amendment by a 65-54 vote to
eliminate all in-state tuition increases and place the full bur
den of the tuition increase on out-of-state students.
But last-minute calls from senators to chancellors from
around the UNC-system staved off the House amendment.
“At one point this morning the Senate conferees were will
ing to give into the House proposal,” said Sen. Howard Lee,
D-Orange, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“Some of us felt it was the concession we would have to make
to pass the continuing resolution before the deadline.”
Lee said several members of the Senate decided to call chan
cellors from some of the UNC system’s medium-sized schools,
including UNC-Charlotte and East Carolina University, who
informed Senate members that the House proposal could be
See TUITION, Page 2
Bomb Threat Left
On Local Vehicle
The report of a suspicious
note on a resident's car was
received by the Department
of Public Safety at 8 p.m.
By Kathleen Wirth
Assistant City Editor
A Chapel Hill resident reported
Wednesday night that a threatening note
was left on her windshield warning her
that a bomb was in the engine of her car.
University police Lt. C. E. Swain Jr.,
who responded to the call Wednesday
night, said the victim drove the vehicle
from the Hanes Visitor Lot on campus to
108 Timber Hollow Court off Airport
Road in Chapel Hill, at which point she
noticed the note on her windshield.
After the victim found the note, Swain
said she drove to DPS in a different vehicle
to report the alleged threat Swain said DPS
received notice of the note at 8 p.m. “We
received a call that a suspicious note was
found on the vehicle,” he said. “From
there we got in contact with the Chapel
Hill Police Department.”
Chapel Hill police arrived at Timber
Hollow Court shortly after the victim report
ed the note, and set up a 100-foot perimeter
around the vehicle in question.
Police then alerted the State Bureau of
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Rep. Cary Allred, D-Orange, reacts to the decision to pass the state Senate's version of the tuition increase.
Allred did not support the Senate’s bill and was vocal in trying to convince his fellow representatives.
Budget Problems Lead to Delayed Tuition Hike
The systemwide tuition increase passed tonight by the General Assembly went through a multitude of changes during a 10-month period.
Nov. 11,2000 - The Board of Jun 28.2001 • Die House Aug. 28,2001 - The House passes the continuing
Governors unanimously approves a 4 approves a budget that cancels all Aug 21,200 • Budget writers budget resolution that once again eliminates all
percent inflationary tuition increase. in-state tuition increases and include the 9 percent tuition increase in-state tuition increases and raises out-of-state
increases out-of-state tuition by 15 in a continuing budget resolution. tuition by about 15 percent
percent.
A I A
May 30,200 , - The Senate approves a Aug. 20,2001 - Budget writers from both Aug. 23,2001 - l Senate passes Aug. 29,20 - After the Senate votes
budget that includes the BOG-approved chambers reach a compromise that calls for a the continuing budget resolution with down the House plan, lawmakers from
tuition increase plus an additional 5 percent 9 percent across-the-board tuition increase. the 9 percent tuition increase. both chambers agree to a 9 percent
tuition increase on in-state students across-the-board turtion increase.
SOURCE:DTH ARCHIVES
Investigation of the threat.
But at 9:23 p.m. a bomb expert with
Chapel Hill Police Department investigat
ed the vehicle, and police determined the
vehicle did not contain a bomb. “He
checked out the car and decided there was
no device in the vehicle,” Swain said.
Three other bomb-related incidents
have occurred this week around the state.
At 11:03 a.m. Monday morning, DPS was
notified of an item resembling a pipe bomb
on Cameron Avenue, near Davie Hall. SBI
officials detonated the object at the scene.
Swain said he did not think there was any
connection between the suspicious note and
the device detonated on Cameron Avenue.
N.C. leaders received a threat Monday
night during the House’s legislative session.
SBI agents searched the legislative building
and did not find any type of explosive
device. The incident is under investigation.
On Wednesday, Christopher McMillan,
a 1986 UNC graduate, was charged with
possession of an unregistered explosive
device. McMillan allegedly is responsible
for an explosion at a Sprint administrative
office building Tuesday morning.
University Police Chief Derek Poarch
said police will launch an investigation into
the note. “We’re going to investigate the
complaints and the alleged threat.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
The biggest sin is sitting on your ass.
Florynce Kennedy
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Numbers Game
UNC, OSU officials react to
New York Times editorial.
See Page 3
Pit Fence Causes Campus Traffic Crunch
By Kara Eide
Staff Writer
Students fighting their way through one of the
most popular areas of campus this week have been
greeted by neon orange fencing that now invades
both the Pit and their walkway.
As the Undergraduate Library renovations progress,
a fence - which now claims a chunk of walking space
between the Pit and the Undergrad - was erected
Tuesday to allow work on the building’s wiring.
The major effect of this new blocked-off area,
which will be inaccessible for about a week, is intense
congestion in the main artery leading to the Pit and
the buildings surrounding it. Especially during class
changes and at lunchtime, the traffic of crammed stu
dent bodies in front of the Undergrad and Greenlaw
Hall can come to a complete standstill.
Leah McGinnis, spokeswoman for the Undergrad
project, said the temporary fencing is there to allow
construction workers to do telephone cabling work.
McGinnis said that in the center of the blocked
area there is a manhole from which workers will be
hand-digging and laying cable underground. She said
workers originally put up tape to mark off the area,
but it was knocked down. While the area has been
blocked off since Tuesday, construction did not begin
right away because it is dependent on the weather.
McGinnis said workers did not start on Wednesday
because there was a possibility of rain in the morning.
Meanwhile, students have become irritated with the
inconvenience. Sophomore Shannon Shillinglaw said
she found herself moving inch by inch through the
clogged area. “I thought I was going to pass out today.”
She said she might try to avoid this crowded area in
the future, but she often forgets until she’s there. “Once
you’re in the gauntlet, you’re in the gauntlet,” she said.
Sophomore Shonta Rogers also said she found it to
be a major hassle. “It’s really just out of control,” she
said. “I’m tired of construction being everywhere I go.”
End of An Era?
Women's soccer starts the
season with disadvantages.
See Page 13
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Students are held up by bottleneck congestion caused by a construction fence
that takes up a chunk of walking space between the Pit and the Undergraduate Library..
McGinnis said officials are taking efforts to sched
ule construction inconveniences during non-peak
hours but, in some cases, it is not possible. “Doing
this work as it becomes necessary allows us to keep
the project on schedule, as we’re trying very hard
to re-open (the Undergrad) by next fall," she said.
McGinnis said there should not be much noise
from the work, but noise or not, junior Matt Jones
said he is still bothered by the extra hassle. He said
his major concern is the unpleasant aesthetics, espe
Weather
Today: T-storms; H 87, L 69
Friday: T-storms; H 86, L 68
Saturday: T-storms; H 83, L 66
SBP, Others
Fight New
Tuition Plan
No student leaders went
to Raleigh on Wednesday, but
some spent the day e-mailing
to oppose the proposed hike.
By Lizzie Breyer
University Editor
As the N.C. General Assembly’s
deadline for passing a continuing bud
get resolution that included a tuition
increase drew near, student leaders
worked against the clock Wednesday to
get their message to legislators.
Although Student Body President
Justin Young and
UNC Association
of Student
Governments
President Andrew
Payne said they
are frustrated by
the budget-mak
ing process, they
said they spent
Wednesday tryina
to maYe nieir
opinion known
before the legisla
ture voted.
Neither Payne
nor Young went
to Raleigh on
Wednesday night, but Young spent the
day e-mailing and calling legislators to
express his opinion.
“I’ve been trying to send e-mails, try
ing to talk to people, trying to make
phone calls, but it seems like nothing
works and nobody’s listening,” he said.
See STUDENT LEADERS, Page 2
DTH/MARY SIOWEU
dally the damage to the plant life nearby.
Jones said students have been jumping over die
stone wall that borders the path and trampling
through the plants - something he said he did himself
in a mad dash to meet someone. “The foliage is going
to be killed within a month or so,” Jones said. “The
groundskeepers will reap the fruits of what they sow.”
The University Editor can be reached at
udesk@unc.edu.
w
H
President
Justin Young
organized a rally in
the Pit protesting the
tuition hike Monday.